As I was making this "W" billet it occurred to me that I couldn't remember seeing how an accordion cut was done here. Anyway, here's a very basic WIP of how I do it:

I started with a 21 layer billet and once welded, I flipped it 90 degrees (for the "W") and drew it out to this:

This was cut into six pieces and stacked (This will be a low layer, bold type "W". If you want a tighter pattern then simply add more layers each way.):

This was welded and drawn into a 1 1/4" x 1 1/4" square and then annealed:

Once annealed, I drilled a 1/4" hole every 3/4" of an inch down the billet making sure to leave 1/2" of steel to the edge. The main reason that I like to drill the holes is that it gives me a rounded concave surface which helps relieve stress later on. [Note: If you do this one direction the W pattern will run lengthwise on the blade and if done 90 degrees off the pattern will run up & down on the blade.] I then band sawed wedges out from alternating sides and rounded the edges with the belt grinder leaving this:

This was then forged out flat. There is a lot of stress on the steel when doing this so I like to do it at welding temperature which will give you a higher success ratio.

I hope that this all makes sense to everyone. If not feel free to ask questions.

Gary